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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Geography

Doubts Session
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Doubts Session
Biome

 A biome is an extensive region distinguished by its flora, soil composition, weather

conditions, and fauna.
 The five primary biome types include aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra.
 However, some of these biomes may be subdivided into more precise classifications,
such as freshwater, marine, savanna, tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest, and
taiga.

Factors influencing the distribution of plants and animals:

Environmental Factors :

1. Food:
 The availability of food is essential for the survival of all living species.
 Differences in food resources contribute to the variations in plant and animal
distribution across different locations globally.
 The scarcity or abundance of food plays a fundamental role in shaping ecosystems.
2. Air:
 Air is indispensable for the respiration and survival of all living organisms.
 Oxygen, a vital component of air, is crucial for respiration and various growth and
development processes in both plants and animals.
 In areas with low air pressure, such as higher altitudes, some organisms may face
challenges in breathing due to insufficient oxygen.
 Additionally, carbon dioxide is essential for photosynthesis in plants.
3. Water:
 Water, entering ecosystems through precipitation like snow, rain, or hail,
significantly influences the distribution of biomes worldwide.
 Aquatic species rely on water for their habitat, while certain desert-dwelling
animals, like pocket mice and kangaroo rats, have evolved to survive in arid regions
with minimal water availability.
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 Water is essential for vital functions, and desert plants, known as xerophytes,
exhibit unique adaptations to store and conserve water, such as fleshy stems and
the ability to absorb and store water during infrequent periods of rainfall.
 Phreatophytes, characterized by extremely long roots, enable plants to acquire
moisture near the water table.
 Nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, play essential roles in various
biological processes.
 Nitrogen is crucial for synthesizing proteins, enzymes, nucleotides, and vitamins,
while phosphorus is involved in the formation of phospholipids and other structural
components.
4. Soil:
 Soil type significantly influences the types and varieties of plant species in a
particular area due to variations in minerals, water content, and microorganisms.
 The composition of soil, including organic and inorganic matter, varies, impacting
water retention capacity, fertility, and mineral content.
 Clay soil, for example, retains more water but less air, while black soil provides an
ideal balance for plant growth with adequate air and water retention capacities.
 Soil pH also affects nutrient absorption by plants, and acidic soil can lead to
desertification, affecting plant habitat.
5. Temperature:
 The ability of plants and animals to survive in extreme temperatures varies.
Endothermic animals like birds and mammals maintain high body temperatures
through metabolism, while ectothermic animals, such as insects and reptiles,
regulate their body temperature using the surrounding environment.
 Ectotherms use various methods, including adjusting body position, sweating,
shivering, panting, burrowing, hibernating, and seeking shade, to adapt to
temperature variations.
 Plants, unable to move, adjust their physiological processes in response to
temperature changes.
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 Photosynthesis may slow down or halt in extreme temperatures, and leaves may
lose heat through evapotranspiration. S
 Some plants have adaptations like hairy stems and leaves, increased solutes in the
cytoplasm, or close growth to withstand cold temperatures and wind.
6. Light:
 Light is a crucial climatic factor influencing the daily and seasonal activities of
plants and animals.
 It is essential for chlorophyll production and photosynthesis, serving as the primary
source of energy in ecosystems.
 The sun, as the source of light, provides energy to ecosystems, impacting the
behavior and growth patterns of organisms.

Interaction Between Living Organism:

Five Types of Ecological Relationships:

 Organisms inhabit designated ecological niches, encompassing the physical environment

they inhabit, their utilization of available resources, and their interactions with other
organisms sharing the same space.
 These interactions, occurring within or between overlapping niches, can be classified
into five relationship types: competition, predation, commensalism, mutualism, and
parasitism.
 While the latter three are traditionally identified as symbiotic relationships, it's worth
noting that predation and competition can also be viewed as symbiotic forms. S
 symbiosis denotes a close relationship where one or both organisms derive benefits from
the association.
1. Competition & Predation:
 Predation involves one organism consuming another to acquire nutrients, with the
consumed organism referred to as the prey.
 Examples include owls preying on mice and lions preying on gazelles. On the other
hand, competition occurs when individuals or populations vie for the same
resources, manifesting within or between species.
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 Consumptive or exploitative competition arises when organisms compete for

resources like food or building materials, while interference competition pertains
to competition for territory.
 Preemptive competition occurs when organisms vie for new territory by reaching
it first, illustrated by the competition between lions and hyenas for prey.
2. Commensalism:
 Commensalism denotes a relationship in which one organism benefits while the
other remains unaffected.
 Examples include barnacles growing on whales, providing barnacles with enhanced
mobility and protection from predators, while the whale gains no advantage.
 Four fundamental types of commensal relationships exist.
 Chemical commensalism involves one bacterium producing a chemical that sustains
another bacterium.
 Inquilinism is when an organism resides in the nest, burrow, or dwelling of another
species.
 Metabiosis represents commensalism where one species depends on the other for
survival.
 Phoresy occurs when one organism temporarily attaches to another for
transportation purposes.
 Parasitism
 Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism
is harmed, but not always killed.
 The organism that benefits is called the parasite, and the one that is harmed is
the host. Parasitism is different from parasitism, which is when the host is always
killed, such as when one organism lays its egg inside another organism that is later
eaten by the hatchlings.
 Parasites can be ectoparasites -- such as ticks, fleas, and leeches -- that live on
the surface of the host.
 Parasites can also be endoparasites -- such as intestinal worms – that live inside
the host.
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 Endoparasites can be further categorized into intracellular parasites, that live in

the space between cells, or intracellular parasites, which live inside of cells.
 There is also something called hyperparasitism, which is when a parasite is infected
by another parasite, such as a microorganism living in a flea, which lives on a dog.

 Lastly, a relationship called social parasitism is exemplified by an ant species that

does not have worker ants, living among another ant species that do, by using the
host species’ workers.

Mutualism

 Mutualism is a relationship in which both species benefit. Mutualistic interaction

patterns occur in three forms.
 Obligate mutualism is when one species cannot survive apart from the other. Diffusive
mutualism is when one organism can live with more than one partner.
 Facultative mutualism is when one species can survive on its own under certain
conditions.
 On top of these, mutualistic relationships have three general purposes. Trophic
mutualism is exemplified in lichens, which consist of fungi and either algae or
cyanobacteria.
 The fungi's partners provide sugar from photosynthesis and the fungi provide nutrients
from digesting rock.
 Defensive mutualism is when one organism provides protection from predators while
the other provides food or shelter: an example is ants and aphids. Dispersive mutualism
is when one species receives food in return for transporting the pollen of the other
organism, which occurs between bees and flowers.

Amensalism:

 Amensalism is a form of negative ecological interaction where one species is adversely

affected or destroyed, while the other either benefits or remains unaffected.
 While amensalism is typically observed between organisms of different species,
instances of such interactions can occur within the same species.
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 Amensalism is alternatively known as an asymmetrical competitive interaction, as the

interaction may not yield benefits for either involved species.
 In many instances of amensalism in nature, the species causing harm often produces
chemicals or other products that negatively impact the other species.
 Amensalism is a type of negative relationship between two species wherein one species
causes harm or impedes the presence of the other species without itself experiencing
any negative consequences or injury.
 Examples of amensalism include organisms that secrete antibiotics, negatively affecting
or inhibiting the growth of other species without suffering any adverse effects in return.
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